You Set Me Free
by LOLO54
Summary: An accident brings Lily and another member of RFR closer together


Just another day in Roscoe, right? Very very WRONG.  
  
Based on the song "You set me free" by Michelle Branch (my first Song-fic, so don't be too hard! ()  
  
Robbie, Lily, Travis, and Ray are all 17 in this story.  
  
[i]Can't you see? There's a feeling that's come over me [\i]  
  
As she sat in the hospital bed, she waited, and waited, and waited. She was dying to know, would her best friend be all right? Why is this happening to Ray? She and Ray had just been in a car accident. Lily was okay. Ray, well you couldn't say the same thing about him. He had been driving the car and a drunk driver had hit them. "Stupid drunks" she thought. It was for those stupid brainless jerks who thought they could drive drunk, who put her friend's life on the line. Lily was racking her brain trying to figure out what was wrong with him. She had to see him, so she clicked the button and buzzed the nurse. Then the nurse came rushing in.  
  
"What's wrong are you okay? Are you feeling okay?" she asked alarmed.  
  
"No, I'm fine" Lily replied  
  
A sign of relief came over the nurse's face. "Then why did you call me in here?"  
  
"I need to get out of this bed and see Ray" Lily said.  
  
"Let me check if you can see him now," The nurse answered, and she left.  
  
"I've got to get outta here," she said to herself. Just then her Robbie and Travis came rushing in.  
  
"Lily, are you all right?" Robbie asked  
  
"Yes Robbie, but I need to see Ray" she replied back, "and I also broke my arm, see" and she showed him the green cast  
  
"Oh Lily, Ray will be fine, don't worry" Travis responded as he and Robbie hugged Lily.  
  
Just then the nurse entered the room, "Miss, you may go see your friend now, but may I warn you he is in a coma. We expect him to wake up sometime within the next two days, and if he doesn't I afraid he won't wake up."  
  
"Thank you," Lily said and the nurse left. "Let's go," and Lily started crying, and slowly got up with the help of Travis and Robbie. They slowly walked to the room where Ray lay on a bed with machines hooked up to him. "Oh Ray!" she exclaimed as she sat down in a chair next to his bed.  
  
"Lily," Robbie asked, "We need to leave now, I'm sorry. We'll see you at RFR right?"  
  
"Actually, maybe not, I think I need to stay here with Ray" Lily said.  
  
"I'll see you later then, bye" Travis said and they left.  
  
Then Lily started talking to Ray, "O God Ray, you have to wake up, you just have to, please for me?" Then she sat in silence for a couple minutes. "Ray, I love you," she said as she started crying. Lily sat by Ray's bedside for until the nurse made her leave. She didn't want him to be alone when he woke up, but reluctantly she left, swearing to herself that she would be back a seven a.m. sharp tomorrow.  
  
[i]Close my eyes, You're the only one that leaves me Completely breathless[/i]  
  
As Lily waited in the lobby for her parents to pick her up she began to think...  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
"Ray!" she giggled as she punched him affectionately, for once again he had said something stupid  
  
"Ouch that Smirts!" Ray stated as he looked at Lily  
  
"What does that mean?" Lily asked raising her eyebrow.  
  
"Smarts and hurts, best of both worlds!" He said as he looked at her. She just giggled.  
  
*END FLASHBACK*  
  
She loved Ray, she always had, and it took a stupid car crash for her to finally tell him.  
  
[i]No need to wonder why, Sometimes a gift like this you can't deny [/i]  
  
Lily went to bed that night and she couldn't stop thinking of Ray. Eventually she drifted off, into dreamland...  
  
***  
"Ahhhh Ray no!" Lily scream as she watched her best friends fall into  
a deep dark hole  
  
"I'll always remember you Lily!" Ray shouted back as he disappeared. *** Lily awoke with a start, this was not happening, her best friend was NOT in the hospital, they had NOT been in a car crash, and no it was all a dream. Or so Lily wished. She looked over at her clock; the green letters read 4:37. She tried to roll over and go back to bed, but it was too hard, so she decided to get dressed and go wait at the hospital to let into Ray's room. He was too to special to her for her to just sit back and watch him hurt. She quietly snuck out the front door, leaving behind only a note, so her parents wouldn't be worried.  
  
She arrived at the hospital at 5:04; she still had another 2 hours before she would be let in to see Ray. She decided that she would buy a snack out of the machine, and wait.  
  
A nurse came rushing and asked, "Is there a "Lily Randall" here?"  
  
Surprised, Lily answered, "Um, yes that'd be me"  
  
The nurse walked over and explained to Lily the situation, "Ray Brennon is just coming out of a coma, and he is still a little groggy, but we think he will be fine. The first think he said when he woke up was your name, and I'm assuming he wants to see you. If you'll come with me," Lily and the nurse started walking, but Lily was thinking about Ray the whole time.  
  
[i]Cause I wanted to fly so you gave me your wings And I held this breath so I could sing You set me free[/i]  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
Lily and Ray were in first grade at Roscoe Elementary.  
  
"Oh cool! Look Ray, it's Jenny's birthday, and she's giving out treats!" Lily said as she and Ray sat a table eating their lunches, and Jenny was walking around passing out cookies, "Oh man Ray, look I got a peanut one, and I'm allergic to peanuts."  
  
"I'll trade with you" Ray said, even though he didn't like the peanut kind Lily had, he gave her his M&M one. Why? Well, because she was Lily.  
  
*END FLASHBACK*  
  
Just then Lily entered Ray's room, and the nurse left. He was sitting up eating some hospital food.  
  
"Ray!" Lily exclaimed, "Are you okay?  
  
"Lily I was so scared, but I was worried about you, are you okay?" Ray asked  
  
Lily ran to the bedside and gave Ray hug; she never wanted to let him go. "I'm fine, I just broke my arm," she said as they pulled away. Then she pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat with Ray.  
  
"I love you too Lily," Ray said. Lily was shocked, "Even though I was in a coma, I still heard you yesterday. You wanted me to wake up and then you told me you loved me. Well I love you too. I think if you had never come I would have never woken up. You gave me the strength to wake up, and live"  
  
Lily started crying, "Oh Ray!" she gave him a big hug and a kiss. "What did the doctors say about you, are you going to be okay?"  
  
"Lily, I don't know, they say I may never be able to walk again, my legs were badly damaged." Ray said. That's not what he wanted; he wanted to be able to stand tall next to Lily for the rest of his life, not below her. Just then the Doctor walked in.  
  
"Ray," he said in a cheerful voice, "you are awake! Good, but can I ask you friend to leave I need to tell you the test results."  
  
"No, she can't leave, I need her to be her with me, " Ray said taking her hand, and lacing their fingers together.  
  
"Okay," the doctor said, "here's the deal, we thought you would have memory loss, but you didn't and you may have persistent headaches for awhile. We can give you medicine for that though."  
  
"What about my legs?" Ray asked. Lily just sat there watching the scene unfold.  
  
"They may not work, you can go through physical therapy, but it might not work. The best way would be just to try walking a little bit everyday. You can check out as soon as your parents arrive." Then the Doctor left.  
  
The room was silent for a bit, but then Lily spoke up, "Ray, I'll call your parents and see if they can check you out over the phone. Or maybe there are real close by, they should be here any minute." Ray's parents had been gone that weekend. They went up to see Ray's cousins, but Ray convinced them to let him stay home. They were about 9 hours away when Lily had first called them and now, they should probably be here any minute.  
  
As if on cue Ray's mother came walking in, "Ray, baby are you alright?"  
  
"Yes Mom I am, I woke up from a coma about an hour ago" Ray said, he had never been so glad to see his parents in all of his life, they could get him out of this sterile prison. "Dad can you check me out and Mom can you help get me into a wheelchair?" Ray's parents were fully aware of what was going on. Lily had called them after the doctor came in.  
  
"Sure son" his Dad answered and left the room.  
  
"Where is Tim?" Ray asked.  
  
"We dropped him off at home so he could get the house ready for you." Ray's mom responded.  
  
"Oh, okay" Ray said. His Mom and Lily successfully go Ray into the wheelchair, but he was still in a hospital gown.  
  
"I brought these for you," Ray's Mom said as she handed him a pair of pajama pants. She also helped him get them on.  
  
"Ready to go Ray?" asked Lily.  
  
"YES! Finally" He said as Lily began pushing him out of the room. "Ahh, Mom can you stop at the pharmacy and get my medicine?" Ray asked. He was having a headache.  
  
"Oh yes, I'll drop off the prescription as soon as it opens a 9:00" said his mother, "but for now you can have some aspirin, here you go." She took some out of her purse.  
  
They left the hospital and Lily spent the rest of the day at the Brennon's house entertaining Ray with movies, and bored games. They played Monopoly twice and Ray won both times, but then Lily was the master of Candy Land. That night Lily went home and she went straight to bed; tonight she could sleep easier, now that she knew that Ray was going to be okay.  
  
[i]There's a will There's a way [/i]  
  
The rest of the week Ray spent in bed, no school, nothing. Everyday after school he would listen to RFR and that would usually catch him up on everything that was going on in school. After RFR everyday Lily, Robbie and Travis would come over and catch him up on the schoolwork, and everyday after the tutoring session was done, they would all help Ray up and walk him around his room.  
  
After school one day Lily, Robbie, and Travis were all walking to the station, but when they got there somebody walk already there. They approached the underground carefully, and slowly. Lily peaked in the window, and RAY was in the station!  
  
"Guys, it's RAY!" Lily shouted.  
  
They all rushed into the station, and Ray was [b] [u] standing [/u] [/b] right there! "Surprise!" he yelled, "I walked here all by myself! Well with the help of this cane," he point to the one in his hand.  
  
[i]Sometimes words just can't explain This is real, I'm afraid [/i]  
  
"Oh my God Ray!! I'm so proud of you!" Lily shouted as she gave him a big hug.  
  
"Uhhh guys, I'm sorry to interrupt this moment, but we are on in 5...4...3...2..." Travis said. They all sat down and got their headphones on.  
  
"You're listening to Radio..." Robbie started  
  
"Free..."Lily added on  
  
"Roscoe! So free it hurts!" Ray finished.  
  
Travis pressed the button for the "clapping sound", "Yes, that's right our very own Pronto is back from his vacation!"  
  
"So tell us, how was Hawaii?" ask Robbie  
  
"Well, hot, sunny, girls, ocean, girls..." Ray responded. They pretended Ray was on vacation while he was sick, so the listeners wouldn't know that Ray was Pronto.  
  
"Okay we get the picture. Here's Change, by The Planet Smashers" Travis said as he put on a song.  
  
The rest of the broadcast went pretty normal, but toward the end Ray kept hinting to Travis and Robbie to leave so he could talk to Lily. Luckily Travis picked up on the hint and hurried Robbie off with him, so Lily and Ray were the only ones left.  
  
"Ray, I'm so glad you can walk!" Lily said as she gave him another hug, but this time as she leaned away, Ray pulled her closer and kissed her. To his delight she didn't push him away. I mean even though she had said she loved him and he had said he loved her, he wasn't quite sure she would accept his kiss. After about a minuet, they pulled away, and just looked him right in the eyes, "I love you Ray"  
  
"I love you too Lily" Ray said, he pulled away for a minute and put on a nice slow song. They danced until it was over and then Lily decided to walk with Ray home.  
  
[i] I guess this time you make me restless You're in my heart [/i]  
  
The next day at school Ray wasn't there. Lily was worried; she had more than just Ray to worry about now, well as of last night. Robbie and Travis could tell that something is up.  
  
"Hey Lily, what's up?" asked Robbie asked as Lily sat down with Robbie and Travis at their usually place on the steps.  
  
"Oh, nothing" Lily casually replied  
  
"Okay then I'm going to come right out and say it, What's wrong Lily, Robbie and I can tell something is up." Travis asked.  
  
"Nothing, nothing" she said while shaking her head, "well I guess, my boyfriend was just in a major car accident, and" but before she could get any further Robbie interrupted.  
  
"Wait, Boyfriend?" Robbie asked  
  
"Uhh, yeah, Ray and I are going out, as of last night" Lily responded, relieved that Robbie changed the subject.  
  
"No wonder Travis dragged me out of the station last night," Robbie said  
  
"Well, if you had been paying attention instead of think about Ms. Carlisle, you would have picked up on the hints he was dropping" Travis responded intelligently.  
  
[i] The only light that shines there in the dark [/i]  
  
Just then the bell rang and all three hurried off to their classes. After school that day Lily skipped RFR and went straight to Ray's house. Things hadn't been going very well lately, and Ray was the only one who could keep her sane. She couldn't keep a secret from him forever. She had to tell him, it was driving her crazy. Then Ray's brother answered the door.  
  
"I had a feeling you'd be here," Tim said to her.  
  
"Um, yeah I came to see Ray" Lily said wondering what was going on.  
  
"He's not here, he's in the hospital" Tim replied sadly  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Lily screamed as tears welled up in her eyes. She started running for the Hospital. Her mind was racing, what was wrong with Ray? Five minutes later she was rushing into the waiting room, then she spotted Ray's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Brennon what is wrong with Ray?" She asked out of breath as she sat in the chair next to them.  
  
"Ray has had some brain damage. He was walking around his room and he fell and hit his head. He slipped into a coma again" Mrs. Brennon replied, "and he also had five stitches in his forehead"  
  
Lily was devastated. Her best friend, her boyfriend, was in a coma, again. She had to see him, what she said he heard last time, maybe he would hear her again. "Do you mind if I go see him?"  
  
"No, of course, go ahead" Mr. Brennon said.  
  
Lily found a nurse and the nurse show her the way to Ray's room. He was lying on the bed, still as can be. "Oh Ray," she spoke hoping that this would help him wake up like last time, "it's me Lily, remember? I still love you." Then she took her hand and held Ray's. Even though he wasn't awake, she told him her secret as she started to cry, "Ray, please you have to wake up. I need you, my... my...Dad might have cancer. They say he may not live for more than a year, if he has it. I need you to help me Ray. I can't do this alone." She sat by his bedside day and night for three days. Then the Ray woke up. "He's up!" she screamed with delight. This startled Ray very much.  
  
"Oh honey!" his Mom said as she came in. She went to give him a hug, but he pushed her away.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
"Your Mom, and this is Lily, remember?" his Mom said.  
  
"Um, no..." Ray said. His mother left to find Ray's Dad.  
  
"It's me Lily, remember? I'm your girlfriend, and your best friend. Don't you remember that time you gave me your cookie because I was allergic to peanuts? Even though you didn't like them?"  
  
"No wonder you are so pretty..." Ray said. Lily was very surprised by this comment.  
  
"Thank you," Lily said. She wanted Ray back, the funny, goof off Ray, the real Ray.  
  
Then the Doctor came in. He explained to Ray's Family and Lily that Ray had temporary memory loss. The only way to get his memory back was to remind him of past events, and maybe that would trigger a memory, and he would be back to normal. Ray's family was thankful that was all that was wrong with him.  
  
[i]Cause I wanted to fly  
  
So you gave me your wings And I held this breath so I could sing You set me free [/i]  
  
Lily was determined to get Ray's memory back, since he couldn't go to school until it happened, that only made her more determined. So, after school she went to his house, and knocked on the door. Mr. Brennon answered.  
  
"Hello Lily, come in. Ray is up in his room." Mr. Brennon said.  
  
"Thanks," Lily said and she ran up the stairs, knocked on the door and went in. "Hey Ray!" she said.  
  
"Hi, um... Lily?" Ray said. He was lying in his bed, and he looked like he just woke up.  
  
"Yes, I'm Lily. I came by to help you remember some things. Come on don't you remember," she couldn't think of what to say. She wanted to remind him of RFR, but if she did and he didn't remember, then he might tell someone, "Best of Both worlds?"  
  
"No, what's that?" Ray asked.  
  
Lily's eyes started to well up in tears, "Um, you used to combine two words together, like pretty and beautiful was prettyful." Lily's tears were running down her face at this point.  
  
"Come on pretty Lily, don't cry," Ray said sensitively.  
  
"Ray, I have to go," Lily started, but couldn't finish, and she ran out the door.  
  
"Lily!" Ray yelled. Even though his legs weren't quite better now, he slowly got out of bed. He stood up and grabbed his cane. He didn't know who Lily really was, but he did know that she really cared about him. He proceeded to walk downstairs, and out the door. He didn't know where he was going, but her followed in the direction he had seen Lily take. Soon he saw Lily come out of a place called "Mickey's." 'I am going to follow her' he said to himself. He limped along behind her, and soon she turned into a vacant lot and went into a door on the side of a building. He followed her over there, and went in to the door. "Lily?" he called as he opened the door.  
  
[i]When I was alone You came around When I was down[/i]  
  
"Ray? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I followed you here, and I saw you go in that door," Ray said as he pointed to the door. "I wanted to say thank you. You are trying very hard to help me and I appreciate it."  
  
"I have one more idea to bring back your memory. Come here" Lily said as she patted the couch next to her. "Now this is what you are going to do. Kiss me, like last time."  
  
"What?" Ray was shocked, had he really kissed this girl before? She was so beautiful.  
  
"This is where we first kissed, maybe it'll bring back you memory." Lily said. They kissed a deep kiss and Lily could tell this was the old Ray.  
  
"Lily, I remember now. This is Radio Free Roscoe, I am Pronto, and you are Shady Lane. I REMEMBER NOW!" Ray said. He hugged her and spun her around. Man he loved her, how could he ever forget about her?  
  
[i]You pulled me through  
  
And there's nothing that I wouldn't do for you [/i]  
  
"Ray, I need to talk to you. There's something that happened while you were in a coma." Lily said seriously. "My dad might have," she started crying.  
  
"Lily, It's okay I'm here," he said as he pulled her into a hug, "Now, what's wrong?"  
  
"Okay, while you were in a coma my Dad wasn't feeling to well, and uh, they think he might have cancer." Lily said. She was glad that Ray was here with her.  
  
Just then, Ray stood up and went over to the tech booth. He grabbed a permanent marker, "Let me sign your cast Lily." He thought this would take her mind off the subject of her Dad.  
  
"Okay," she pulled up her sleeve and showed him her green cast.  
  
"Why hasn't anyone signed it yet?" he asked as her begun writing.  
  
"Because I wanted you to be the first one to sign it." Lily said.  
  
"Okay I'm done," Ray said.  
  
Lily read the message to herself. 'Dear Lily, I love you so much. Thank you for never giving up on me, and I'll never give up on you. I probably wouldn't be able to walk if you hadn't forced me to. Thank you and I love you. Love Ray.'  
  
[i]Cause I wanted to fly So you gave me your wings And I held this breath so I could sing You set me free [/i]  
  
Lily and Ray were waiting in the hospital room. They would soon find out if Lily's Dad had cancer. "Randall?" the nurse called  
  
"That's us," Lily's Mom said.  
  
"You can come with me then," Lily's Mom, Lily and Ray followed the nurse. They were lead into a room with Lily's Dad and the doctor.  
  
"Well," the Doctor started, "I am Dr. Green, and I am afraid to say, that there is no news to tell. He just had a strange flu bug. No cancer. I'll let you be on your way then." And the doctor left the room. Lily was so happy. Here she was in a room with her healthy family, and her boyfriend, Ray. If it hadn't been for Ray, she would have been lost. He was her light in the dark, and he set her spirit free.  
  
THE END 


End file.
